Sea Queens: The Next Generation
by queenpearl
Summary: The story of Lt./Lt. Commander Dorothy Brahms, personification of the USS Enterprise-D.
1. Encounter at Farpoint: Part 1

_Captain's Log: Stardate 4115.37. Our destination is the planet Denab IV beyond which lies the great, unexplored mass of the galaxy. My orders are to examine Farpoint, a starbase built there by the locals. In the meantime, I am becoming better acquainted with my new command. This Galaxy-class USS Enterprise. I am still somewhat in awe of its size and complexity. We are still short of several key positions, most notably a first officer. But I am told a highly experienced man, one William T. Riker, will be joining us at Farpoint. In the meantime, I have Lt. Dorothy Brahms doubling that post with her usual station as Science Officer.  
_  
Like everywhere else on the ship, the bridge was alive with activity as each officer present manned their posts. At her console above the center command chairs, Tasha Yar, Security Chief greeted her captain with a nod of her head. Councilor Deanna Troi sat in the left command chair below her and Dorothy Brahms, personification of the _Enterprise D_ herself, sat in the right. Second Officer Lt. Commander Data was at the helm.

"You will agree Data that Starfleet's orders are difficult." Picard said as he came to stand behind him.

"Difficult? Simply solve mystery of Farpoint Station." Data replied.

"Simple as that." Picard mused as he sat in his command chair.

Dorothy glanced once at him before turning her attention back to her work. "Farpoint Station, even the name sounds mysterious." She said

"It's hardly simple Data to negotiate an agreement with the station while at the same time snoop around for information." Picard told his second officer.

Data looked confused. "Inquiry. The word snoop."

Dorothy stifled a chuckle. "Data, how can you be programmed to be a virtual encyclopedia of human information and not know a word as simple as snoop?" She asked.

Data stood up. "Possibility: a human behavior I was not programmed to immolate." He replied, his gold eyes unblinking.

"It means, um to um, spy. Sneak." Dorothy tried to explain. Fortunately for her, Data understood quickly.

"Ah, to sneak covertly. To go stealthfully. To slink, slither, glide..."

"Yes, yes Data." Dorothy sighed, trying to cut off his rambling at the root before it got out of hand. Data had a habit of speaking in paragraphs at a time and she really didn't want to subject the bridge crew to that this morning.

"Captain." Deanna's interruption had Dorothy and Picard turn to look at her.

The former did not like the alarmed look on Deanna's face. "Councilor?" She asked.

"I'm sensing a powerful mind." Deanna replied.

Dorothy sensed something too, something powerful was out there and instantly the red alert sounded. Some kind of powerful electrical grid appeared in front of the ship, registring as a solid. "Could be a very powerful forcefield." She said. "Either way, if we collide with it..."

The _Enterprise D_ slowed to a halt in front of the shield and with a flash of light a being appeared on the bridge. It appeared to be male but was wearing this odd clothing. Dorothy hadn't seen anything like this before.

"Thou advised to return to thy sector immediately." The being said. "Thy have penetrated too far into the galaxy already."

"That's quite a directive." Picard said.

"Indeed." Dorothy agreed, standing beside her captain. Her eyes were narrowed and her hands were balled into fists, each holding a bit of her pant fabric. "Do you mind telling us what you are?"

"We call ourselves the Q." It replied, moving around off the top level and down to stand beside Picard. "I present myself to thee as a fellow ship captain, so thou may better understand me. Go back where thoust camest." He turned to see an ensign with his phaser at the ready. "Thou stay where thou art." The ensign turned to frozen ice.

Instantly, Dorothy knelt beside him. "He's frozen!" She cried in shock, hardly able to believe it. What kind of powers did this being have? She picked up the phaser and turned to face Q. "Do you recognize this?" She asked, a low growl in her voice. "A stun setting."

"Knowing humans as thou doest, Lt. Can one risk being held captive by them. Now go back, or thou shall most certainly die."

Dorothy wasn't about to back down and met his gaze harshly. "Lt. Brahms stand down." Picard ordered her and reluctantly Dorothy backed off into a less of "in your face" distance and more to a "I am watching you" position.

"Thy few centuries pass so rapidly." Q said as he walked up next to Tasha. "Perhaps thou shall better understand this." Another flash of light and this time a small triangular cap covered his head. He had a green uniform on. One that Dorothy recognized from historical archives. "Actually, the issue at stake is patriotism. You must return to your world and put an end to the commies. All it takes is a few good men." He said, taking a drag off his cigar.

"What? That nonsense is centuries behind us." Picard murmured.

"Put you can't deny you're a dangerously child savage race." Q said.

"Most certainly I deny it!" Picard growled.

"And I'll attest to it." Dorothy added, moving forward again. "I agree humans were when they wore costumes like that." She nodded to Q's outfit. "But they made progress even then."

"Sir, sickbay reports Lt. Torris' condition is improving." Worf interrupted.

"Ah concern for one's fellow comrade." Q said. "How touching." He placed his hand on Dorothy's shoulder.

The starship glared at him. "Now a personal request sir." She growled, glaring at Q her jaw clenching. "Permission to clean up the bridge."

Q merely laughed and moved back slightly. "It's the same old story out here isn't it captain. More wars, more allies, more murdering."

"No, the same old story is this: self rightous lifeforms who aren't here to learn, but to prosecute, to judge anything they can't tolerate!" Picard growled.

"Prosecute? Judge?" Q's eyes took on a mischevious glint. "Splendid idea captain. Splendid. When we next meet captain, we shall proceed exactly as you suggest." Q disappeared in a flash of light.

Q was true to his word and after a harrowing saucer separation at nearly Warp 10 and an unconditional surrender, Dorothy, Tasha, Deanna, Picard, and Data all found themselves in the middle of a courtroom.

 _"Well this should be fun."_ Dorothy thought as she and the other "prisoners" were ordered to rise. The crowd around them had a habit of being rather unruly.

"Very very accurate sir." Data said.

"Mid 21st century, post atomic era." Dorothy mused as she looked around.

Q came forward on his gigantic chair. He looked so full of himself Dorothy just wanted to punch his smug smile off his face and Tasha, coming from a planet where this "fair" court was commonplace, confronted Q. Dorothy tried to hold her back but Q, the expression on his face not changing, simply froze Tasha in the same manner as Lt. Torris.

"You barbarian!" Dorothy cried, rushing him. She was held back by Deanna.

"You said this would be a fair trial." Picard said, his voice low in anger. "And harming one of the prisoners is not a fair trial!"

"This is a merciful court." Q conceded and restored Tasha. It did nothing to abate Dorothy's anger and it didn't help that the crowd complained either.

"Criminal, how plead you?" Q asked.

"Guilty." Picard replied.

"But sir!" Dorothy protested as the crowd cheered.

"Provisionally." Picard added.

Q was surprised by this, but leaned back in his chair, his hands folded in front of him. "The court will hear the provisions." He said.

"We question that this court is abiding by its own rules." Picard said.

Q was hardly in the mood for negotiations and Picard, fed up with his games, growled "Test us then! We have a long mission ahead of us, plenty of opportunities so test us Q!"

"Another brilliant idea captain. But I won't require a long mission. Your immediate destination offers the perfect opportunity. You have 24 earth hours to complete it." Another flash of light and the group was back on the battle bridge. The time indicated that no more than a few minutes had passed since they'd left.

"I hate him." Dorothy fumed, punching the nearest thing which happened to be the side of the battlebridge door. She left a good sized dent in the metal frame and cursed as she felt a bruise forming on the inside of her left thigh from that.

"Getting angry isn't going to help anything. Whatever Q's got in store for us we need to face with a clear head is that understood Lt." Picard said trying to calm her down.

Dorothy wasn't done yet. "A savage race? Captain, my race has lived alongside yours for centuries and I can attest that..."

"Is that understood Lt?" Dorothy nodded, the fire in her eyes abating somewhat. "Yes sir." She replied.

Denab IV was hardly a green planet, the station being the only sign of life on its surface. Dorothy was quite happy to see that Hailey Sulu, the _USS Hood_ was there, having dropped off Commander Riker. She also had, a very important guest who wished to tour the _Enterprise.  
_  
Dorothy was ordered to the shuttle bay to greet and give him the tour. It was unusual for anyone, especially an admiral, to use a shuttlecraft as a means of transport between starships verses a transporter which was easier and quicker. But from the files she had on hand, she determined quite easily that Admiral Leonard McCoy still carried a distrust of transporters.

The large doors to the shuttlebay opened to welcome in the returning craft. Gliding gently to its spot the blue nacelles of _Gaileo_ shut down. Ensign Gina Brahms stepped out first. She was a small thing, barely 4'9" compared to Dorothy's 5'10". She saluted her mothership. "Ensign Gina Brahms bring the Admiral aboard as requested ma'am." She said.

"Thank you Ensign, I will take it from here. You are dismissed." Dorothy replied.

Gina saluted again and left allowing her passenger to come forward. This time it was Dorothy who snapped a salute first. "Lt. Dorothy Brahms at your service admiral. I'm to give you the tour today."

"I retired from Starfleet ago, call me Bones." McCoy rolled his eyes and Dorothy relaxed her stance but only slightly.

"This way, admiral." She gestured to the door.

Stifling a sigh, McCoy followed her. _"They're all the same in uniform."_ He thought.

Dorothy showed him the medical facilities. Having been a doctor, McCoy could certainly appreciate the advances Starfleet had made since when he was in the service. She let Dr. Crusher take over this part of the tour, the doctor being far more knowledgeable than herself in medical matters.

If McCoy was impressed he didn't show it, remaining as stoic and grumbly as ever as Dorothy lead him through the rest of the ship.

"I heard this only second hand mind you, but it sounded like you got into a scrape of trouble on your way here." He said.

Dorothy winced. If Hailey had already picked up on the Q encounter then at least half the fleet would hear about it by the end of the week. She'd never be able to show her face at Starbase 310 for months without getting teased about it.

"I'm hoping that will be the last adventure of that nature that I will have but well, I am an _Enterprise_ so it's probably wishful thinking." She shrugged.

"Dorothy. May I call you Dorothy? If you call me Bones that is." He said.

She nodded. "Of course Bones." She replied.

"Dorothy don't you let them push you around. You take lip from no one, you hear." He said. "You're a new ship but you have the right name. Make sure your crew treats you like a lady. For that's what an _Enterprise_ is. And bring them all home in return."


	2. Encounter at Farpoint: Part 2

"Were my orders not clear? No children on the bridge!"

Dorothy twirled around her chair at her captain's sudden outburst. Picard had a thing about children in certain parts of the ship. As far as the command structure went she understood perfectly. Children were prone to touching things that may cause issues so keeping that tendency away from essential systems was paramount. The boy in question was the same that had soaked her nice carpet floors with water after an accident in the holodeck. He was dry now though and had done a nice job of cleaning up per her instructions. She had to give him a few points for that. But coming onto the bridge...

"But my son's not on the bridge. He merely accompanied me on the turbo lift."

Oh, Dr. Crusher. Wesley Crusher. Now it made sense to Dorothy. Offering merely a raised eyebrow, she turned back to her work. She could hear the turbolift doors close as Picard welcomed Wesley on the bridge. The boy displayed a remarkable knowledge of starship operations. If he ever became a part of her crew, she strongly considered telling him who she really was. Right now he probably thought her some scary lady officer after the incident outside the holodeck. She could see he remembered it too for he kept well clear of her station during the tour. A blinking light on her screen directed her back to her work. "Captain..." She began though Wesley beat her to it.

"Another ship approaching on the sensors." He said.

Picard apparently thought Wesley was playing and ordered Wesley off the bridge in no uncertain terms. "Captain, sensors just picked up another ship approaching." Dorothy reported.

Well he believed her at least. "On viewer." He ordered and the screen displayed a large saucer shaped vessel entering orbit not far from the _Enterprise D_ 's present location.  
"Analysis, Miss Brahms?"

"Sensors are picking up a high amount of energy discharge within its hull. I can't determine much more than that." She replied. "Sir it's firing on the planet!" She cried.

"Location?" Picard asked.

"The Bandi's city. But, it's not after the station sir. It's missing it completely." Dorothy wasn't sure what to make of this. She would've thought for certain that the station, with unique building characteristics, would've been the first target.

"Lock on phasers." Picard ordered just as Q reappeared on the bridge. Dorothy growled and stood.

"So human." Q purred. "Prepared to kill without a second thought."

"That vessel out there is an unknown. It's merely a precaution." Picard growled.

"So just because you don't know, you'll shoot it? Oh and what of the Bandi, as they take the direct fire of this unknown vessel aren't you going to do something to help them?"

"Dorothy?" Picard looked at the young woman as she came down to stand beside him, glaring at Q all the while.

"Sickbay reports ready sir." She replied through clenched teeth. "Teams are standing by to beam down." She stiffened as Q looked at her.

"Sir, I've lost helm control. It's just gone." The helmsman reported.

Dorothy retreated several steps from Q's intimidating gaze as the immortal being continued to stare at her. Her hands shook slightly, her jaw tight as pain replaced anger.

"Stop it Q!" Picard demanded. "Leave this ship and let us figure your little puzzle out without you interfering."

Q did eventually leave. Dorothy staggered, gripping the head of the command chair for support. Riker held her other arm, helping her regain her balance. "Dorothy are you..."

"I'm fine Will." She looked at him. "The answers we seek are on that ship over there." She nodded to the saucer.

As soon as Riker's away team went over things began to go awry. The saucer changed, glowing pink.

"Go ahead, fire your weapons. Destroy it while you still have a chance!" Q cried.

Dorothy took one look at Q and before her captain could say anything she growled "Shut up!"

She was ready in an instant to fire phasers and get her crew out of there when they were transported back on their own. Her first thought was Q but a glance at the omnipotent bastard told her he was just as surprised as she was.

"The creature brought us back. It's not a ship, it's alive." Deanna reported.

"Oh of course. It's exactly as you sensed councilor, one alien on the surface suffering in despair and, one alien up here filled with hatred at the ones-the one's who captured its mate." Dorothy's voice grew quieter as the realization struck her.

"I see now it was too easy. Generosity has always been one of my weaknesses." Q murmured.

"Miss Brahms, prepare the phasers to deliver an energy beam and direct it at the station." Picard ordered. "Let the creature have what it needs."

"Yes sir." She replied, quickly making the corrections. "Beam ready sir." She reported after a moment.

The blue stream of particles were a direct hit on the station, lighting it up in an iridescent glow. "Now getting feedback on the beam sir." Dorothy said.

"Terminate the beam." Picard ordered gently.

Below, the station warped, changed and became an identical to the creature in orbit with the _Enterprise D_. Dorothy's best description of the pair's appearance would be a deep sea ocean creature from Earth known as a jellyfish.

"Sir, it's wonderful." Deanna grinned. "Great joy and gratitude. Great joy and gratitude, from both of them."

Picard slowly turned to face Q as the mated pair drifted away from the _Enterprise._ "Why?" He asked.

"It was far too simple. Your small human brains require a more challenging..." Q began.

"We've passed your little test, despite your interference." Picard growled.

"Temper temper mon capitain, I was only trying to help a pitiful species..."

"Get off my ship!"

"I leave only because it suits me." Q said, disappearing in his usual flash of light before reappearing beside Dorothy who had to resist the urge to punch him. "But I can't promise I won't reappear again." He vanished, this time for good.

Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief. For now at least, he was gone and things could get back to a somewhat normal routine.

"Take us out of orbit, ensign." Picard ordered the helmsman.

"I hope not all our missions are exciting as this one." Riker said as he took his seat.

"Commander, I am an Enterprise." Dorothy said as she sat down at the Science console. "The next missions are bound to be far more interesting."


	3. Pegasus

_"Ship's Personification's personal log: Stardate 47456.9. The studies of the Meqoria Quasar are proving useful and have provided me with much to do as head Science Officer. Shore leave is planned on Pacifica at the end of this study where I intend to soak up the sun and the sand as the old saying goes. In the meantime, the schools are celebrating a little holiday they call Captain Picard Day. Where each student sends in their own rendering of the captain in the form of some kind of art. He himself will look each peace over and then choose the winner of this contest. A task which I'm sure, 'pleases' him to no end."_

"I don't see why we have to do this every year." Picard sighed, his arms crossed as he inspected the table filled with drawings. The wall behind him was also covered in renderings of elementary school art, all in the familiar shape of the famous captain. Beside him stood Councilor Troi and Ship's Personification Dorothy Brahms. Across from them and matching Dorothy's rising amusement was Riker.

""I thought after last year, the teachers agreed they wouldn't do this anymore." Picard sighed, shaking his head in annoyance as he viewed some rather impressive drawings by the youngest children. Dorothy found them to be, quite imaginative and in some cases innovative.

"Captain Picard Day is one of the Children's favorite days." Troi said.

"They're excitement grows each year as it draws near and always look forward to hearing your decision." Dorothy added with a smile. She was well aware of her captain's discomfort around children and took great pleasure out of watching the non-parent's attempts to present the image of geniality that he had asked Riker to ensure he gave when the first officer joined the ship. Dorothy would admit he was getting better but there were still those times, like now.

"But why does it have to be me?" Picard sighed, holding up a cut out image of himself, hand drawn and colored in a Starfleet uniform. He shook his head and went back to examining the art, trying to ignore Dorothy as she hid a snicker.

"I think that's cute." The ship's personification said as she crossed her arms and continued to watch her captain, leaning back against the wall.

"And besides, you're the captain. They look up to you." Troi said. "You're a roll model for them."

"Well, they seem to have an exaggerated idea of me." Picard snorted as he showed Riker a drawing made by a kid from one of the lower decks. The colors were right but Picard had the beefed up look more akin to the old earth's superman than a real human.

"Riker couldn't hide his grin. He picked up a clay model of Picard, holding up to his mouth. "Oh I don't know." He lowered his voice so it closer matched the captain's, clearly teasing. "I think it's a rather accurate representation, number 1."

Dorothy put a hand up to her mouth to stifle her giggles but that didn't stop them from coming. And her shaking shoulders practically gave her away anyways.

"Shooting a glare at her, Picard turned back to Riker and fixed the first officer with a hard but slightly resigned look. "Isn't there something else you could be doing?" He asked.

"I'll be on the bridge." Riker's voice was tight as he worked to keep imitating Picard without bursting into laughter. He stood at attention, tucked the clay doll under his arm and started to leave.

"Will." Troi called after him.

When Riker turned around he saw Picard standing there with his arms crossed, clearly annoyed at the hazing but unable to do a damn thing about it. Troi and Dorothy both were trying and failing to hide their smiles. Riker gave them both a conspiratorial grin and gently set the doll back on the table right the way it was before. Then he left.

"Captain, incoming message coming from Admiral Blackwell. It is coded priority one." Worf's voice was much like the age old adage "saved by the bell" and Picard couldn't hide his relief even if he tried. He gave a nod to the other two officers and Troi and Dorothy filed out quietly.

Dorothy took her place on the bridge at the science console, taking a few seconds to re familiarize herself with her display before resuming her work.

It was a couple of minutes after that Picard stepped onto the bridge, immediately ordering a course change. Dorothy was used to the unexpected by now. She might even consider it routine. It was just part of being an Enterprise. She watched him take his seat as the ensign at the help followed his instructions with typical efficiency. Even so, her concern was raised at seeing his tension. She bit her lip as she turned back around to her console. "Well, this is about to get interesting." She mused quietly.

The rendezvous with the Crazy Horse had been too quick to allow much chit chat. All Dorothy was able to get from Carol, the Crazy Horse's personification, was that an Admiral Pressman was coming on board with orders from Starfleet Intelligence. It did absolutely nothing to ease Dorothy's concerns in fact it only heightened them. Anything coming from intelligence was bound to be trouble, whether it was more trouble than it was worth remained to be seen. She joined Picard, and Pressman in the conference room. The Admiral conducted the briefing.

"As you know, the starship Pegasus was lost in this sector some 12 years ago along with most of her crew. I was her captain and Riker was my helmsman." He began.

"I remember hearing about that." Dorothy sat at her captain's left side, her eyes fixed on Pressman. "Official reports indicated a warp core breach. But if that was really true, then you wouldn't be here."

"That is correct Lieutenant. The Pegasus was testing new technologies for the Federation. Not even I know for certain how or why she was lost. I and Will were in an escape pod at the time. We watched as my ship simply blew up in front of us. At least that's what we believed, until now." Pressman said.

"If she is lying somewhere in this sector, we'll find her." Picard said.

"But we better do it soon." Dorothy cut in. "It's likely the Romulans already have a ship in the area if not on the way."

"Agreed. Speed is critical but we'll still need to be cautious. We don't know why the Pegasus disappeared and I'd rather not trigger a second calamity." Pressman said but Dorothy had the sense that he wasn't entirely honest.

"You have anything to add Commander?" She asked Riker.

Riker blinked as if he was a bit startled at being addressed. Dorothy wasn't blind to how Pressman leaned in slightly, his blue gaze fixed on him. If he had any less discipline, Dorothy figured Riker would be squirming in his seat. "No, nothing." He replied.

But Dorothy wasn't convinced. The Admiral knew or at least had some suspicion about what happened to the Pegasus 12 years ago and Riker knew too. She alleviated her concerns by convincing herself that if it was something serious, he would voice it.

The Enterprise had to even start her search when she came into contact with a Romulan warbird. The warbird instantly took on an aggressive stance, its weapons locked on the larger Federation ship. Dorothy rose from her science station, moving to stand next to Worf, taking the console next to him. If that warbird made one wrong move, they'd blast it straight to hell. As she readied phasers, Dorothy heard a distinctive beep that indicated communications were trying to be established. "Captain, they are hailing us." She said.

If Picard was surprised by this, he didn't show it. "Onscreen." He ordered. Dorothy hit the appropriate button and the warbird's bridge came up on the main viewer.

"I am Commander Serolle of the Romulan vessel Terix." The commander seemed cool. Too cool. Too relaxed. His attitude was one of a man knowing he had complete control of the situation. Dorothy had always hated that attitude and she focused all the more intently on her console, blocking out his words. Once the commander had finished and the warbird was on its way, the Enterprise resumed her original course. Dorothy returned to her station, shutting down the display showing her the latest results of the Quaser before they left it behind. She reconfigured her station to scan for the Pegasus' signature. If that ship was out there, then the Enterprise would find her. "And be damned if the Romulans are about." She thought viciously.

"Got it!" Dorothy's victorious cry sounded across the bridge a few hours later.

Picard came around to her console. "What do you have?" He asked.

"There's a subspace resonance signature coming from that asteroid." She enhanced the display until it showed merely the highlighted asteroid and the immediate surrounding area. "It matches that of a Federation starship. It could be the Pegasus."

"Far more likely that it is." Picard muttered. "Well done Lieutenant. Helm, set a course for that asteroid, ahead 1/4 impulse."

With the warbird still around, the Enterprise was forced to ignore the asteroid although she left it soaked in an ionization field. Everyone held their breath as the warbird made a thorough search of the asteroid. It was fortunate that they seemingly ignored it and returned to their own sector.

The asteroid was huge. Now that Dorothy had a chance to get a better look at it. The recommendations for a transporter and a shuttlecraft were both turned down. It was too risky to beam through that much solid rock and the asteroid's sheer bulk meant that the gravitational affects on a shuttle could be fatal. There was only one option, Dorothy knew this. But it still shocked her to hear Pressman say it.

"Sounds like the best solution is to take the Enterprise in." He said. "Put that fissure on the main viewer." They all turned to face the display. "This caysm is large enough for us to maneuver in. Besides if we ever hope to salvage the Pegasus we're gonna need a starship to do it."

"Picard frowned. "Miss Brahms?"

"Dorothy faced her captain with a sigh. "It is possible sir." She replied. "I wouldn't recommend it but if you say so, I can do manage." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;""You're going to have to do more than that lieutenant." Pressman said. "Now can you or can't you get in there?"

"You said yourself the caysm is big enough." She replied. "If there's a chance we can salvage the Pegasus we should try it."

"Secretly Dorothy was excited, despite Picard's objections, to enter so deeply into a planetary body. No starship had done this before, she was the first. "Boldly going indeed." She thought, keeping a close eye on the viewscreen.

The Enterprise rounded a corner and sure enough, there was the Pegasus. Dorothy could see at once that something was wrong and her earlier suspicions were given a boost. "She materialized inside a rock. That shouldn't happen." She said.

"Captain, the equipment that we need was in main engineering." Pressman said. "Can you scan that section and report its status?"

"The starboard bulkhead is contained within the asteroid. The rest of the ship appears intact however." Data reported.

"See if you can restore life support to that area. Commander Riker and I will beam down."

Worf extended the shields, encasing the Pegasus in a protective environment far more friendly than the deep space she'd been living in.

"Can you scan for life signs?" Dorothy asked. As long as the hull still existed, the personification should as well but this was a unique case and a long shot at best.

"I cannot confirm but there seems to be, one lifeform aboard." Worf reported.

"Captain, Admiral request permission to join the away team." Dorothy asked.

"Granted." Picard immediately replied. Pressman started to object but Picard put him down. "If Petra is still down there, then Dorothy is the best choice to accompany you."

"Very well as long as she promises not to breathe a word of what she sees." "Of course Admiral." "Come with us Lieutenant." Dorothy followed them off the bridge and to the transporter room.

"Energize."

While Riker and Pressman explored engineering, Dorothy took advantage of her ability to survive the vacuum of space and left them to it. The lifeform reading came from the forward part of the ship anyways so she navigated her way towards the bridge. Like the rest of the ship, the vacuum had created near perfect preservation. Most of the people she found looked as though they were simply asleep, not 12 year old corpses. Forcing open the bridge doors, she held her tricorder in front of her, scanning each body for life signs. There was only one that registered and it was very faint. It belonged to a seemingly young looking girl with short blond hair. She wore a blue uniform, same as Dorothy's. It was Petra, Pegasus. Dorothy set the tricorder aside as she knelt beside her. Petra was curled up under the science station. How long she'd lain there was anybody's guess.

"Petra?" Dorothy gently shook the girl's shoulder. "Petra can you hear me?"

A few more tries gave her the same result and Dorothy sighed as she realized the folly of her efforts. The Pegasus had been powered down for too long. Unless some miracle occurred and she was returned to Starfleet and repaired, Petra would never wake. She would remain in this dream state forever. Dorothy sighed, resting her head in her arms. As she observed Petra through her half closed eyelids something strange happened. The girl's legs shimmered as though they were phasing out of existence and then they readjusted themselves as though nothing had occurred. But it did and it got Dorothy's attention. Because she had seen this effect before. She'd only seen glimpses of it, and always at the end of a transmission with a Romulan vessel. She never gave it much thought before but it was significant now because it always happened right before the warbird cloaked. "That's what you were testing." She whispered.

It made almost too much sense. The Federation had been banned from pursuing cloaking technology for over 50 years. It put Starfleet at a severe disadvantage when facing down Romulans. Pegasus' experiments could've changed all that. No wonder Starfleet Intelligence wanted this kept under wraps. It could've easily started a war. Dorothy could understand Pegasus' intentions. In some ways, she agreed with them. The Federation had been kept out of the fight for too long and that damned treaty was to blame! Even so, it didn't change the facts. Regardless of how Dorothy felt, Petra still broke the rules. Her experiments threatened war with the Romulans. Something that Dorothy was keen to avoid if she could help it. Despite how often she did it, she didn't find that taking disruptor hits was all that fun.

Dorothy rose, brushing off her uniform and picked up her tricorder. "I better go see what's going on in engineering." She said, her voice echoing in the silent room. "I can't let that cloaking device jeopardize the peace. I'm sorry, Petra." Her voice shook and she swallowed her tongue twice. Just who was she speaking to. The dead officers, who gave their lives trying to stop this from happening. Or to Petra who was convinced it would do some good for the Federation. Level a playing field that had been uneven for so long. Dorothy wasn't sure and she wasn't sure she wanted to answer that. Either one was too hard for her to think about right now. With one final look around the room, she left through the doors.

She arrived just as the Pegasus shook. "That sounded like a rockfall." Dorothy said.

"Did you find Petra?" Riker asked. There was something in his voice that told Dorothy she'd walked in on something previously in progress. Something rather charged and unfinished. She looked at Pressman to see him pick up a large cylinder. Her eyes widened. "Is that the..." "Not one word Lieutenant." He ordered and she nodded briskly. "Yes sir." She replied. "And I did find her, Riker. She's not in a state to be recovered." "I'm sorry." Riker truly did sound sympathetic. She gave a nod to show she appreciated that. "Brahms to Enterprise, 3 plus one object to beam up."

Stepping onto the bridge, she saw the opening which the Enterprise had come through was closed. "What happened?" She demanded.

"The Romulans have used their disruptors to close the cavern. They've sealed us in." Picard replied.

"Incoming transmission from the warbird." Worf said.

"Let's hear it." Picard sighed as Dorothy came around to stand beside him, her hands balled into fists. She did not appreciate being trapped. Not one bit!

"Captain," Serolle's voice was just dripping with mockery. "You seem to be in an unfortunate situation."

"Are you responsible for this?" Picard demanded to know.

"I don't know."

"What do you want Commander?" Dorothy growled, moving to the center of the screen.

"Your complete and unconditional surrender for one thing. And then, hmm. I'm sure I can find a way to dig you out." He replied.

"Why you insufferable, pointy eared..."

"Dorothy." Picard warned, putting a hand on her shoulder but she shook him off angrily.

"I will not take orders from you, nor will I surrender." She hissed. In a quieter but no less stern voice she added "we'll see who's gloating later."

The communications were terminated. "Lieutenant that was unwise." Picard said.

"Captain, if we agree they'll just come back later and get their hands on both ships." She replied.

"Alright. Options." Picard sighed.

"We could use the phasers to cut our way out." Worf suggested.

"No, the asteroid's too unstable. It might just bring the whole thing down on us." Dorothy replied. "And I, for one, am not in the mood to get crushed." She paused, eyeing the device sitting so prettily next to Pressman. "There is, another option."

"Dorothy." Pressman warned. She ignored him. "We could use that." She pointed at it.

"And what is that exactly?" Picard asked.

Dorothy hesitated, torn between her duty to follow orders and her duty to her crew. To keep them alive and this device may very well be the key to that. But at the same time, she had reservations and rightly so. The technology was basically untested. Petra had tried to use it and the results were clear to see. What happened to the Pegasus could easily happen to the Enterprise if they were not careful. But if there was one thing Dorothy had learned from Picard it was that he never played it safe. So neither would she.

Before she could answer, Riker beat her to it. "That is a prototype for a interphasic cloaking device." He said. Dorothy looked at him, seeing the relief on his face first thing. There was a tension that had existed in his shoulders since the start of this mission that suddenly wasn't present. "How long had you been holding this in, Commander?" She wondered silently.

Pressman wasn't amused. "You just destroyed your career, Will." He said.

While the Admiral was not amused, for Picard it was a revelation. "So this is what it's about. A cloaking device, a violation of the Treaty of Algeron that the Federation signed in good faith!"

"That Treaty has done nothing but compromise our ability to effectively fight the Romulans!" Pressman shot back.

Dorothy couldn't resist jumping in. "I agree with the Admiral on this, captain. Algeron has been a continuous thorn in Starfleet's side since it was first made." She said. "However, this cloaking device may be our only way out of here."

"Mr. Data?" Picard turned to his second officer.

"If we could modify it to our systems, it should work." Data replied.

"Then make it so!"

Dorothy joined Data and Geordie in engineering as they installed the cloaking device.

"It's integrated into our systems captain, but you need to watch the inter-coolant levels." Geordie warned. "If they get too high, we'll blow the entire relay system."

"Understood."

"That must've been what happened to Petra." Dorothy whispered. She could only hope the same thing wouldn't happen to her. She took a seat next to Geordie. "You know Geordie, I'm all for trying new things. But this, has me nervous."

"Dorothy," He looked at her seriously. "If you weren't nervous, then I'd be afraid."

"Stand by to engage cloak."

"Cloaking device, engage."

Dorothy's whole body shimmered as the cloak came online. She phased just as Petra had only this time, the Galaxy-class' whole body rippled. She held up a had, watching the phase happen. "Fascinating." was all she said. A raised eyebrow from Geordie was the chief engineer's only reply.

"Cloaking successful." He reported as Dorothy appeared solid again and gave him a nod.

"Very well, proceed."

Dorothy held her breath as the 5 second countdown began. 5 seconds might not seem like much but for her, it was an eternity. She would find out at the end of that if the cloak really worked. If it didn't, this was going to be the shortest trip under cloak in starfleet history.

She breathed a little easier as the Enterprise passed through the inner wall of the asteroid with no incident. "Passed through 2 kilometers of rock. 1 kilometer to the surface." She said. Inwardly, she was praying to whatever higher power was out here. "Please let this work. Please let this hold together. Please don't let me re-materialize inside solid rock." She was lucky to emerge on the other side in perfect condition. The warbird was just off the Enterprise's port bow and Dorothy phased again as she deactivated the cloak and became visible. The captain sent his message to Serolle, Dorothy sent her own to Terix. It read simply "Nice tech. Thanks for sharing. Have a good day." No she did not regret it. And like hell she would. Even though it would only last a short time as inevitably the cloak would be taken away from her as soon as she reached a starbase, it felt beyond good to stick it to the Romulans for once. And with their own technology no less!


End file.
